Turning to me with a happy grin, Alice dropped onto the couch right by my side, hugging me tightly. I hugged her back and raised my free hand, knuckles forward.

She fist-bumped me, kissed my cheek, and sighed. "It's good to be back." seb

As darkness fell, I was alone outside on the patio while grilling up dinner. It was a cold evening, and the girls were inside where it was warm while their slave boy Matty made them food. But I didn't remain alone for Long.

I heard the sliding door open and the voices of excited teenaged girls chattering about whatever popped into their pretty Little heads filled the air for a few moments, but a moment Later the door slid back shut and the sounds faded. I heard footsteps and glanced back to see a small figure almost completely hidden beneath a blanket that had been wrapped over the top of her head in addition to around her body. Based on her short stature alone I knew it was Belle, and I asked, “Coming to get a breath of fresh air?"

“A Little too fresh. It's freezing out here." She wrapped the blanket a little tighter around her thin body.

She made to sit down in one of the chairs, but I gestured, “Come stand by the grill. The heat will help keep you warm."

Belle nodded and came alongside me. I wore a jacket and there was no wind, so the chill didn't really bother me. And when she came close I wrapped up my little Annabelle in a hug and rotated us so that she was between my warmth and the grill.

“What brings you out here into the far reaches of the Siberian wasteland?" I asked casually.

She shrugged, Looked up at me with doe eyes, and murmured, “I needed a kiss."

“Oh, well in that case..." I quickly bent down, holding her tight, and captured her Lips with my own.

She clutched the blanket close around her head and shoulders but otherwise pressed herself against me, kissing me with unexpected passion. No warm-up, no foreplay, just straight to the main event, as if she'd been building up to this moment for a while already.

Feeling the intensity of her emotions, I squatted and scooped up my

Baby Belle in my arms, blanket and all, to bring her face to the same elevation as mine. She finally shot her arms out and wrapped them around my neck, her tongue darting and diving as her lips mashed up against mine over and over and over again. Other than the times we made out while in the middle of having sex, she hadn't kissed me with this kind of passion since... well... maybe never.

ALL of a sudden, Belle broke away, turned her face, and tucked her head into the corner of my neck and shoulder. She whimpered, shuddered, and seemed to start crying for a moment. But just as suddenly as she'd started, she stopped, sniffled and asked, “Please put me down.”

Frowning, I went ahead and set her back down on her feet. Taking deep breath, she Looked up at me, wiped a tear from her eyes, and mumbled,

“Sorry about that."

“What's going on?" I asked.

"Oh, just hormones out of whack I think," she said dismissively before looking up at me, her pale green eyes shimmering in the outdoor patio lights. "I Love you, Matty.”

Her voice was serious and sincere. I smiled warmly at her and replied,

“I love you too... Annabelle."

She gave me a coy little smile, got up on her tiptoes, and gave me another quick kiss. Shivering enough to cause her face to twitch for a second, she muttered, "“Brr... It really IS cold out here. I'm gonna head back inside." Without waiting for a response, she turned around and started heading for the sliding door.

I watched her go, puzzled. But the alarm I'd set for myself went off just then, drawing my attention back to the grill. The meat couldn't wait.

Dinner was a boisterous affair. With one last evening together before school started again, the girls were in a festive mood. Plus, they seemed intent on polishing off every Last drop of alcohol we had left in the Tahoe box, nevermind that I probably could've added the bottles to the Liquor cabinet.

The wine ran out during dinner, which more or Less forced everyone to switch to the hard alcohol. I mixed up sweet, fizzy drinks with soda to take the edge off, but that didn't stop the girls from finishing glass after glass as the night wore on.

Much like our first night in Tahoe, happy-flirty drunk Naimh outdrank everyone. Unlike our first night in Tahoe, competitive Sam tried to keep up with her while never turning morose, not even for a little bit, which was nice. Belle simply weighed like 90 pounds soaking wet. She didn't have the meat on her bones to absorb so much alcohol, and she may have turned out even happier-flirty drunk than Naimh.